First Episode - Free Speech on College Campuses

For our first episode covering Free Speech on College Campuses, we are honored to sit and discuss with experts Dr. Stefanie Lindquist and Dr. Joseph Russomanno. View their bios below!

Dr. Stefanie Lindquist

Dr. Lindquist is currently Deputy Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Foundation Professor of Law and Political Science at Arizona State University. She previously served as interim dean, associate dean for outreach, and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Texas School of Law, and then served as Arch Professor and dean of the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs from 2013-2016. Before her time at the University of Texas, she also served as associate professor of law and political science at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Lindquist is widely recognized as an expert on the U.S. Supreme Court, administrative law, and constitutional law. Her book "Measuring Judicial Activism" is the first publication to define the term quantitatively. At Vanderbilt University, Dr. Lindquist was awarded the Robert Birkby Award for Excellence in Teaching Political Science. At the University of Georgia, she won the Richard B. Russell Award for outstanding undergraduate teaching along with being named Professor of the Year by the Department and Public Administration graduate students.
After law school, Dr. Lindquist spent time clerking for the Honorable Anthony J. Scirica at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. Later, she practiced law at Latham and Watkins in Washington, D.C. During her time in D.C. she also served as a research associate at the Federal Judicial Center where she assisted committees of the Federal Judicial Conference in addressing questions of judicial administration.

Dr. Joseph Russomanno

In 1994, Dr. Russomanno joined the Cronkite School as a faculty member. He earned a master’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in broadcasting, from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Boulder, where his work emphasized First Amendment theory and media law.
His career in broadcast journalism includes working at four different TV stations. He has worked as a news reporter, news writer, newscast producer and executive producer. His on-site assignments included the coverage of the 1987 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Washington, D.C., Super Bowl XXI in Pasadena, Calif., and Super Bowl XXII in San Diego. He received several awards for his work as a broadcast journalist which includes a regional Emmy award.
Since joining the Cronkite School faculty, Dr. Russomanno’s teaching and research focus on First Amendment law and theory. His publication record includes four books and articles appearing in journals such as Communication Law and Policy, Hamline Law Review, Communications and the Law, the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media and the Journal of Communication Inquiry. His opinion columns have been featured The Arizona Republic and Time.com. Dr. Russomanno has been interviewed several times by the news media on matters related to media law and First Amendment issues.
Dr. Russomanno’s international work includes invited appearances at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal; La Universidad del Noroeste and Televisa in Hermosillo, Mexico; and the Oxford Round Table on Freedom of Speech and Press at Oxford University in Oxford, England.

Second Episode - eSports Business & Law

For our second episode we discussed eSports player contracts, investors, and streaming with Cisco Maldonado and Harris Peskin. Cisco traveled to AZ from CA and Harris phoned in from NY. Check out their bios below!

Cisco Maldonado

Cisco is currently head of marketing and communications at the MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund). He previously worked as Brand Manager for Walt Disney Studios, before working for Warner Bros. Entertainment. He worked as Director of Global Brand Marketing at DC Comics and the Director of Trade Marketing at Warner Bros. Entertainment for over a decade combined. Now, he is venturing into the E-sports business as an investor with his business partner.

Harris Peskin

Harris is an eSports attorney at ESG Law, the leading law firm in the eSports industry. His expertise is in corporate and intellectual property law. He played an active role in the acquisition of H2K Gaming (one of Europe's premier League of Legends teams.) Eventually, he joined H2K Gaming as its Chief of Operations and Associate General Counsel. Upon leaving H2K in December 2016, he provided legal services to other aspects of the eSports community. With ESG, Harris represents 7 of 10 North American League Championship Series teams, 6 of 12 Overwatch League and their non-endemic partners, such as the owners and ownership groups of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and others. Harris has worked directly with game developers and league operators to negotiate for fairer revenue sharing and governance agreements on behalf of ESG's clients.

Third Episode - Disposition of Frozen Embryos in Divorce Proceedings in Arizona

This episode explores two sides of the controversial new bill passed in Arizona that mandates who will receive frozen embryos in the event of divorce. For this episode, on air talent Chase Turrentine is joined by visiting on air talent Angelica Simpson and guest Gary Marchant.

Dr. Gary Marchant

Gary Marchant is a Regent's Professor of Law and director of the Center for Law, Science and Innovation at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. His research includes legal aspects of genomics and personalized medicine, the use of genetic information in environmental regulation, risk and the precautionary principle, and governance of emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, neuroscience, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
He teaches courses in Law, Science and Technology, Genetics and the Law, Biotechnology: Science, Law and Policy, Health Technologies and Innovation, Privacy, Big Data and Emerging Technologies, and Artificial Intelligence: Law and Ethics at the college of law. He was named a Regents' Professor in 2011 and also is a professor in ASU’s School of Life Sciences, a Distinguished Sustainability Scientist in ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, and is a Lincoln Professor of Emerging Technologies Law and Ethics with the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at ASU.
Professor Marchant was a partner of Kirkland & Ellis (Washington, D.C. office) in 1999, where his practice focused on environmental and administrative law. During his time at Harvard Law School, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology and editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review. He was also awarded the Fay Diploma which is awarded to the top graduating student at Harvard Law School.
Professor Marchant continues to frequently lecture on the intersection of law and science at national and international conferences. He has authored 150+ articles and book chapters on emerging technologies. Thus far, he has served on five National Academy of Sciences committees and has organized several academic events and conferences on law & science issues.

Fourth Episode - Understanding the Music Modernization Act

In this episode we discuss the significance of the Music Modernization Act, a ground breaking bill for the music industry that made its way to the White House just this past week. The MMA has been described by many as the first piece of legislation in decades to offer fair play to musicians. Not only has the MMA found common ground between opposing interests in the music industry, but it has also earned the support of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. A lot of work has been put into this bill, with an extensive history leading up to it. We are joined by Steven Marks, chief of digital business and general counsel at The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) who kindly gave us his time to further analyze this bill for us all to better understand what it means for the music industry and why you should know about it.

Steven M. marks

Steven M. Marks is Chief of Digital Business and General Counsel at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in Washington, D.C. The RIAA is a trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States, and its members consist of record labels. The RIAA is also responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the United States.
Before joining the RIAA, Marks served as law clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder of the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. Mark received his B.A. from Duke University and graduated from Duke Law School, participating on the Duke Law Journal as Articles Editor. Marks is also a musician.
At the RIAA, Marks oversees music industry initiatives with a focus on digital music marketplace growth and the development of new revenue streams. Marks heads the RIAA’s business affairs, legal, litigation, and technology departments. Marks is the leader behind the creation of internet radio license and SoundExchange, serving on its Board of Directors and as Chair of SoundExchange’s Licensing Committee. During his time at RIAA, Marks is the mind behind many historic agreements with music publishers, songwriters, digital music services, and mobile phone companies. Marks led negotiations resulting in the groundbreaking agreement with Internet service providers to create the Center for Copyright Information which is a platform that educates consumers about online uses of music and films, serving as Vice Char of CCI since 2011. Most recently, he and the RIAA were an integral part of the Music Modernization Act’s success. The Music Modernization Act (MMA) just recently passed Congress by the end of September 2018 and has made its way into the White House.

Fifth and Sixth Episode - The American Judicial System Parts I & II

In this episode we discuss the significance of the Music Modernization Act, a ground breaking bill for the music industry that made its way to the White House just this past week. The MMA has been described by many as the first piece of legislation in decades to offer fair play to musicians. Not only has the MMA found common ground between opposing interests in the music industry, but it has also earned the support of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. A lot of work has been put into this bill, with an extensive history leading up to it. We are joined by Steven Marks, chief of digital business and general counsel at The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) who kindly gave us his time to further analyze this bill for us all to better understand what it means for the music industry and why you should know about it.

Chief Justice (ret.) Ruth V. Mcgregor

Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor (Ret.) served on the Arizona Supreme Court from 1998-2009 and was also a judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1989 until 1998. She served as Chief Judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1995-1997. Before her appointment to the bench, Justice McGregor worked in private practice of law at Fennemore Craig law firm in Phoenix, Arizona. She served as law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor during her first on the United States Supreme Court.
Justice McGregor received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, summa cum laude, from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and a Master of Laws in the Judicial Process from the University of Virginia. Justice McGregor continues her work by dedicating herself to activities involving legal education and organizations dedicated to ensuring an impartial judiciary. She has served as an officer and a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Inns of Court Foundation, as a Board member for the National Association of Women Judges, as a board member of the Conference of Chief Justices, and on the Legal Council of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. Justice McGregor also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Future of Arizona and of Justice at the Stake, which is a section delegate for the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, and as Chair of the O’Connor Advisory Committee.

Presiding Judge JaneT Barton

Judge Janet Barton is the presiding judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court. She was reappointed last year by Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales. Her reappointment runs through June 30, 2021. She was first appointed presiding judge in July 2015, while appointed as Superior Court judge in 2000 by then Governor Jan Brewer. Prior to her appointment, Judge Barton was a partner at Snell & Wilmer, working in commercial litigation, specializing in state and local tax cases.
Judge Barton received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 1975 at the University of Kentucky. She also received her J.D. with distinction at the University of Kentucky in 1985.
She was an adjunct professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in the fall semester of 2011. She is also Chair of Maricopa County Superior Court’s Jury Advisory Committee (2006-present).

Seventh Episode - For Profit Incarceration and the U.S. Constitution

Co-hosts Amena Kheshtchin and Herbert Paine interview John Dacey, who is Founder and Executive Director of Abolish Private Prisons and Robert Craig, Staff Attorney at Abolish Private Prisons. In this episode, we interview John and Robert on the privatization of prisons and the two of them discuss how private prisons violate U.S. Constitution. They are determined to have their day in court before the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish for-profit incarceration.

John Dacey

John Dacey is the Executive Director and Legal Team of Abolish Private Prisons. He worked for 12 years at legal aid and public interest firms where he handled class actions and other cases for the poor and people with disabilities in matters concerning poverty and disability programs, particularly Medicaid, and jail conditions.
Since 1990 John has been in private practice in Phoenix where he represents businesses, particularly nonprofits,that provide medical, behavioral health and developmental disability services. His work includes trials in state, federal, and tribal courts. John served as a state court judge pro tem and a federal court-appointed mediator to mediate inmate lawsuits over medical care and religious freedoms.
For the last five years John has been building a litigation challenge to the constitutionality of private for-profit prisons. He founded Abolish Private Prisons, a 501(c)(3) Arizona nonprofit corporation, in 2015.

Robert Craig

Robert Craig graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2012. He clerked for Judge Andy Hurwitz on the Ninth Circuit for one year followed by a three-year clerkship with Judge James Soto of the District Court of Arizona. He volunteered with Abolish Private Prisons over the fall of 2017 and joined the team full-time in 2018.
Immediately after graduating from the University of Arizona, Robert taught fifth-grade in Phoenix for two years as part of Teach For America. That experience sparked a passion for working with underserved communities that continued through law school, during which he worked for the School District of Philadelphia's General Counsel Office, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Civil Practice Clinic. He is now John Dacey’s Staff Attorney at Abolish Private Prisons.

Eighth Episode - Federal System and Criminal Justice

We partnered with the Academy for Justice at Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law for this episode, with guest co-host ASU Law Professor Erik Luna and Executive Director at the Academy for Justice, Dawn Walton. Through the Academy for Justice, our guests for this episode are Sixth Circuit Judge John Nalbandian and LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center Professor John Baker. Throughout the interview, we focus on discussing the federalist papers and criminal justice reform.

Sixth circuit Judge john nalbandian

John B. Nalbandian serves as a United States Circuit Judge from Kentucky on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was nominated and confirmed to that position in 2018. Prior to that, Judge Nalbandian was a partner in the litigation practice group of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Cincinnati, where he served as the firm’s lead appellate lawyer and also practiced complex litigation in state and federal courts. Judge Nalbandian was board certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in appellate law.
Prior to joining Taft, Judge Nalbandian practiced for five years in the appellate section of Jones Day in Washington, DC. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Nalbandian clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston. While in private practice, he also served as a board member of the State Justice Institute, a nonprofit organization established by the federal government to improve the administration of justice in state courts. He served as President of the Cincinnati Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. He has also been involved in his community as a board member of the Greater Cincinnati Minority Counsel Program, and as a board member of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Southwest Ohio.
Judge Nalbandian earned his B.S., *magna cum laude*, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as managing editor of the *Virginia Law Review*.

Dr. John baker

Dr. John Baker received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A., *magna cum laude,* from the University of Dallas. He also earned a Ph.D. in Political Thought from the University of London.
Following law school, he served as a law clerk in federal district court and as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans before joining LSU in 1975. While a professor, he has been as a consultant to USAID, USIA (now part of the State Department), the Justice Department, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, and the Office of Planning in the White House. He served on an ABA Task Force which issued the report, *The Federalization of Crime* (1998) and later as a consultant to the “Bi-Partisan Task Force on the Over-federalization of Crime” (2012-2014) created by the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime.
Dr. Baker is a Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law School. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Oriel College, the University of Oxford (2012-2014). He is Professor Emeritus of Law, and previously the Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law, at Louisiana State University Law School. He was an adjunct Fellow at the Heritage Foundation (Spring, 2008) and a Distinguished Scholar at the Catholic University of America Law School (2011-12). He has also taught at Tulane Law School, George Mason Law School, Pepperdine Law School, New York Law School, Hong Kong University, and the University of Dallas, School of Management. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Lyon III (France) (1999-2011) and at the Universidad de los Andes, Chile, where he was a Fulbright Specialist in 2012. He has lectured at universities and research institutes in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Croatia, Peru, Slovenia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, where he was a Fulbright Fellow (2006).
Baker has taught over a dozen different subjects, mostly in the area of public law. His main areas of interest are Constitutional Law (particularly federalism and separation of powers), Criminal Law, Anti-Terrorism Law, International Law, Health Care Law, Mediation, and Comparative Law.
In addition to law review articles and book chapters, Dr. Baker’s academic publications include: *Hall's Criminal Law: Cases and Materials* (with Benson, Force and George; 5th ed. Michie, 1993); *An Introduction to the Law of the United States* (ed. with Levasseur; University Press of America, 1992). He has also published a number of times in *The Wall St. Journal*.
He argues in federal court, including two oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court. He teaches courses for the Federalist Society on separation of powers with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
Dr. Baker was a co-founder of the first iteration (1995) of Stratfor Inc., a global intelligence agency. He co-authored its first book: *The Intelligence Edge* (with Friedman, Friedman and Chapman; Crown Books/Random House 1997).

Ninth Episode - David Boies on Alternative Dispute Resolution

We partnered with ASU Law Professors Art Hinshaw and the Honorable Judge Bruce E. Meyerson (Ret.) through the Lodestar Dispute Resolution Center and Meyerson’s ADR lecture series to bring you the ninth episode of our podcast featuring guest David Boies. Boies is considered one of America’s greatest lawyers of all time. He has a history of dealing with the nation’s biggest cases that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court: Westmoreland v. CBS, the landmark First Amendment case; United States v. Microsoft, on behalf of the federal government; Bush v. Gore; and Hollingsworth v. Perry, the effort to legalize gay marriage. The list goes on. In this interview, he specifically discusses the importance of ADR and the cases he is currently working on.

**David Boies**

Since 1997 David has been the Chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner. Prior to 1997 he was a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. David has been selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine (2010). He has been named Global International Litigator of the Year by Who’s Who Legal an unprecedented seven times, including in 2013.
He is the recipient of Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Redlands (2000), New York Law School (2007), University of New Hampshire School of Law (2013), and New York University (2013) and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the Chicago Theological Seminary (2011). His awards include the Award of Merit from the Yale Law School, the ABA Medal from the American Bar Association, the Vanderbilt Medal from New York University Law School, the Pinnacle Award from the International Dyslexia Association, the William Brennan Award from the University of Virginia, the Role Model Award from Equality Forum, the Lead by Example Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers, the Torch of Learning Award from the American Friends of Hebrew University, the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award from the Union for Reform Judaism, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Center for Justice. David has been named the Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer; the Lawyer of the Year by The National Law Journal; runner-up Person of the Year by Time Magazine; the Antitrust Lawyer of the Year by the New York Bar Association; Best Lawyers in America from 1987-2019; Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers; and a Star Individual by Chambers USA. He was named one of the Top 50 Big Law Innovators of the Last 50 Years by The American Lawyer in 2013.
David served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the United States Senate Antitrust Subcommittee in 1978 and Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in 1979. In 1991-1993, he was counsel to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, recovering $1.2 billion from companies who sold junk bonds to failed savings and loan associations. In 1998-2000, he served as Special Trial Counsel for the United States Department of Justice in its antitrust suit against Microsoft. David also served as the lead counsel for former Vice-President Al Gore in connection with litigation relating to the 2000 election Florida vote count. As co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Perry v. Brown, he won judgments establishing the constitutional right to marry for gay and lesbian citizens in California. Representative clients include Altria, American Express, Apple, Barclays, CBS, DuPont, Heartheaded Productions, HSBC, NASCAR, New York Yankees, Oracle, Sony, and Starr International.
David was born in Sycamore, Illinois on March 11, 1941. He attended the University of Redlands (1960-62), and received a B.S. from Northwestern University (1964), an LL.B., magna cum laude from Yale University (1966), and an LL.M. from New York University (1967). He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; and a Trustee of the National Constitution Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York University Law School Foundation and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. He is the author of numerous publications including Courting Justice (2004), and Public Control of Business (with Paul Verkuil), published by Little Brown in 1977. He has taught courses at New York University Law School and Cardozo Law School.

Tenth Episode - WGA-ATA Standoff

This month’s episode covers Writers Guild of America and the #WGAStaffingBoost#WGASolidarityChallenge and navigates the legal battle between WGA and ATA which made headlines earlier this month. Amena Kheshtchin-Kamel interviewed WGA writers Liz Alper and Greg Bernstein. Liz Alper is a driving force behind the movement on Twitter, where she's graciously spent her time keeping track of writers recommended by upper level writers for staffing season. Greg Bernstein is a lawyer who is also a film screenwriter, and his film "Official Secrets" premiered at Sundance and will hit the theaters in August.

Liz Alper

Liz is a WGA writer who is a huge part of the #WGASolidarityChallenge and #WGAStaffingBoost movement on Twitter, in the midst of the WGA-ATA standoff. She organizes recommended writers in lists and grids for show runners and other writers to access.

Prior to landing a staff writing position on CHICAGO FIRE, Liz was the showrunner’s assistant for David Shore (HOUSE M.D., BATTLE CREEK). She got her start as a writers’ assistant on HOUSE M.D. and has also served as a script coordinator on MONDAY MORNINGS for David E. Kelley. Liz is a graduate of Emerson College, originally hails from Pawtucket, Rhode Island and is the (self-proclaimed) “World’s Worst Stapler”. She is now a co-producer on the drama, The Rookie.
Here is a link to her WGA page: https://directories.wga.org/member/0fe43b6f-cfcc-4315-960f-3baa6f8b948c and you can also find her on **Twitter** and on **IMDb**.

Gregory Bernstein

Greg Bernstein has worked extensively on both the creative and business sides of the entertainment industry.
After graduating from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Law School where he served as executive editor of the UCLA Law Review, Bernstein practiced entertainment law for two years and then worked for six years as vice-president of business affairs at Columbia and Tri-Star Pictures. Bernstein then left the executive suite for the classroom when he enrolled in the film program at the American Film Institute (AFI) where he earned an master's degree.
Since leaving AFI, Bernstein has received writing credit on four films: The Conspirator, which was released in 2011 and directed by Robert Redford, and for which Bernstein was awarded the Humanitas Prize; Trial and Error, which starred Charlize Theron, Michael Richards and Jeff Daniels; and Call Me Claus, which starred Whoopi Goldberg. His latest film is Official Secrets starring Keira Knightley. Official Secrets had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and will hit the theaters August 2019.
Bernstein has sold additional scripts to Disney and Dreamworks. In 2003, Bernstein took a sabbatical from writing and entered the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he received a master's degree in public administration. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Bernstein served as the assistant executive director of the Writers Guild of America from 2004 until 2006.

Eleventh Episode - Entertainment Law with Stephanie Cohen Boxerbaum

Ever wonder what it’s like to practice law as an entertainment lawyer in California? Stephanie Cohen Boxerbaum was kind enough to lend us some of her time to discuss entertainment law broadly and some of the specifics, like what it’s like to have YouTubers and social media influencers as clients, and how to start one’s own practice in the field. She is an entertainment attorney with 15 years of entertainment law experience in California and founding partner of Box Counsel. She is also the creator of The High Vibe Secret Society which is a lifestyle brand for anyone who is business minded and wellness driven. From business and legal affairs at Adconion Media Group to former EVP Business Affairs and Business Development at DanceOn/Izo which is the largest entertainment network for music and dance across all digital platforms, to running her own practice representing creators and entrepreneurs, Stephanie knows all about our digital media world and overseeing legal transactions. Her clients depend on her to structure deals for them and knows all about marketing and branding, especially when it comes to content creators.

Photo Jan 24, 1 08 37 PM.jpg — Stephanie Cohen Boxerbaum

Stephanie Boxerbaum is the managing partner and founder of Box Counsel. With over fifteen years of entertainment law experience, Stephanie was previously Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Business Development for izo (formerly DanceOn, the dominant global programming brand for dance entertainment and the largest digital community of influential dancers and choreographers. She was responsible for overseeing all legal transactions of the company and managing the top tier talent partnerships. Stephanie joined the izo team from Adconion Media Group (AMG), where she was the VP of Business Affairs and Acquisition. She handled all legal transactions for AMG's branded content studio, Red Lever, while also specializing in content acquisitions for AMG's owned and operated content platform. Prior to AMG, she held the position of VP, Business Affairs and Business Development at VOX Entertainment, a global branded entertainment events and marketing company. She began her legal career in private practice, representing entertainment clients and handling litigation matters at Liebman, Quigley, Sheppard and Soulema.
Stephanie received her BA from the University of Florida in Advertising and her JD from Southwestern School of Law. She is in good standing with the California bar, along with being a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. She’s certified as an intuitive eating facilitator and is also the founder of The High Vibe Secret Society, a lifestyle brand for anyone who is business minded and wellness driven.

Twelfth Episode - Marijuana and Bankruptcy Law

The legalization of marijuana is a hot-button issue in the legislatures, courts, and communities in America. Studies vie with one another to determine its safety and propriety. In whatever form these questions are raised about the value and benefits of cannabis, marijuana is increasingly igniting discussions in courtrooms throughout America. This episode focuses on the legal issues as they relate to the business side of marijuana, specifically as they relate to banking, bankruptcy, and the alignment between Federal and state law. To focus on these issues, Amena Kheshtchin-Kamel and Herbert Paine are joined by Judge Daniel Collins, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Arizona and Laura Coordes, an Associate Professor of Law at ASU’s Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. See their bios below to learn more about this episode’s guests! Also included below is Rafaella Safarian’s biography, who is a judicial extern for Judge Collins and who worked extensively with Laura Coordes and Judge Collins to write a fifteen paged prospectus on Marijuana and Bankruptcy Law in preparation for this episode.

Laura Napoli Coordes

Laura Coordes is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Her research focuses on bankruptcy and financial distress, and she teaches Contracts, Secured Transactions, and several bankruptcy courses. Professor Coordes is an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, where she frequently publishes in committee newsletters. She serves as a volunteer editor for the Volo project, which summarizes and disseminates bankruptcy-related circuit court opinions. Professor Coordes has served as a peer reviewer for the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and is an Honorary Master of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court.

Professor Coordes received her J.D. with honors from The University of Chicago Law School, where she was a Bradley Fellow and served on The University of Chicago Law Review. She completed a legal fellowship at the Student Press Law Center after receiving her degree. Before coming to the College of Law, Professor Coordes practiced in the Business, Finance and Restructuring Department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York.

Judge Daniel P. Collins

Judge Collins was appointed a Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, effective as of January 18, 2013. He served as the Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Arizona from March 2014 to March 2018. Immediately prior to taking the bench, he was a shareholder of the law firm of Collins, May, Potenza, Baran & Gillespie, P.C., located in Phoenix, Arizona. He received a B.S. in finance and accounting (1980) and J.D. (1983) from the University of Arizona. He started his legal career with the law firm of Rawlins, Burrus, Lewkowitz & Feinstein, P.C., practicing primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, commercial litigation and commercial transactions. Dan served on the State Bar of Arizona Subcommittee on the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. He served as chairman of the Bankruptcy Section of the State of Arizona and was a Lawyer Representative to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He was granted the St. Thomas More Award in 2017. Dan is presently an At Large Governor of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute, on the Board of the Phoenix Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and is a member of the University of Arizona Law School’s Board of Visitors. He is a founding member of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, State Bar of Arizona, American Bar Association and Maricopa County Bar. Dan and his wife raised their 5 children in Phoenix.

Rafaella safarian

Rafaella Safarian is a J.D. candidate at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. A rising 2L, she is spending her summer as an eager extern for the Honorable Daniel P. Collins at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona.

Thirteenth Episode - COVID-19 & Prisons

Founder and host Amena Kheshtchin-Kamel and Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law Professor Valena Beety interviewed Councilman Carlos Garcia, Assemblyman Pat Nolan, Public Defender Joel Feinman, Khalil Rushdan of the ACLU, and Attorney Kurt Altman for our upcoming episode, in partnership with Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law’s Academy for Justice, on COVID-19 & our criminal justice system.

We’re joined by organizers and public officials, all concerned about our unprecedented crisis: a spreading virus and how it affects our courts, our jails, and our prisons. If we’re going to talk about flattening the curve, then prisons, jails, and detention centers have to be part of the conversation.

Pat Nolan is the Director of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform, and he served in the California State Assembly for 15 years, ultimately serving as California State Assembly Republican Leader. Carlos Garcia serves on the Phoenix City Council as representative for District 8, and was elected to his position in 2019. Joel Feinman is the Public Defender for Pima County. Khalil Rushdan is the Smart Justice Community Partnerships Coordinator for ACLU of Arizona, and Kurt Altman is an attorney and state director of Right on Crime in Arizona & New Mexico.

Councilman carlos garcia

**Carlos Garcia** is a member of the Phoenix City **Council**, representing District 8 in Arizona. He assumed office on June 6, 2019. Carlos has spent the last 16 years of his life fighting for social justice in Arizona. Born in Mexico, he migrated to the US at the age of 5, raised by his mother as a single parent. Carlos studied to be a History teacher, but his path has lead him to be a community organizer his entire adult life.

Joel Feinman

Joel Feinman was born in Tucson, graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University in 2000, and with a J.D. and M.A. from the University of Arizona in 2007. He joined the Pima County Public Defender's Office as a felony trial attorney in 2007, and in May 2017 the Board of Supervisors appointed him Chief Public Defender for Pima County. Joel has previously served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Arizona. He is a co-founder of the Peoples Defense Initiative, and teaches in the School of Government and Public Police at the University of Arizona and at the U. of A. law school.

Khalil Rushdan

Khalil Rushdan is the Smart Justice Community Partnership Coordinator for the ACLU of Arizona. Khalil served 15 years before his conviction for Felony Murder was overturned for vindictive prosecution. Since his exoneration, Khalil has been an advocate and a mentor for formerly incarcerated Arizonians. In his new role at the ACLU Khalil will create partnerships with the leaders of targeted community groups with a special emphasis on organizations that work directly with those directly impacted by the criminal justice system and communities traditionally not involved in criminal justice work

PN Photo WH.JPG — **Pat Nolan**

Pat Nolan is the Director of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform. The Center informs and mobilizes public support for criminal justice reforms based on conservative principles. It also works with government officials to implement those reforms effectively.
Nolan is a leading voice on criminal justice reform, highlighting the skyrocketing costs of prison, fiscal responsibility in the criminal justice system and reforms for non-violent offenders. He is a strong advocate for treating each prisoner with dignity and respect, and offering them hope and practical assistance after they are released from prison. He worked with Chuck Colson for 15 years as President of Justice Fellowship. Together they built support for reforms among Christians and conservatives.
Previously, he served 8 terms in the California State Assembly, two of them as the Assembly Republican Leader. He was a leader on crime issues, particularly on behalf of victims' rights, was one of the original sponsors of the Victims' Bill of Rights (Proposition 15), and was awarded the "Victims Advocate Award" by Parents of Murdered Children.
Nolan was targeted for prosecution for a campaign contribution he accepted which turned out to be part of an FBI sting. He pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and served 29 months in federal custody.
Before entering prison a friend his told him that “for centuries Christians have left their day-to-day world, humbled themselves, done menial labor, prayed and studied their faith. We call that a monastery. View this time as your monastic experience.” Pat credits this friend with helping him enter prison in a frame of mind which allowed him to put the time to good use. Pat says he drew great comfort from the story of Joseph in Genesis. “Man intended it for evil, but God intended it for good.”
Nolan is the author of *When Prisoners Return*, which describes the important role of the Church in helping prisoners get back on their feet after they are released. He is a frequent expert witness at Congressional hearings on important issues such as prison work programs, juvenile justice, prison safety, offender reintegration and religious freedom. He was a leader in the successful efforts to pass the Prison Rape Elimination Act, the Second Chance Act, the Fair Sentencing Act, and the recently enacted Firsts Step Act. He is probably the only convicted felon to have participated in four signing ceremonies at the White House.
Nolan has lectured at many judicial conferences and legal conventions. He has coauthored articles for the Notre Dame Law School Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy and the Regent Law School Law Review. He was member of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, which developed standards to hold prison officials accountable for preventing sexual assaults. He also served on the National Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons.
Nolan was honored by the Freda Utley Foundation for his “pioneering work for criminal justice reform. Nolan was the first American to receive this prestigious international honor. He received the Vera Institute of Justice Award for his leadership to reform the criminal justice system, and also received the Justice Roundtable's Advocate Award for his "tireless work championing criminal justice reform." Pat was also given the “Architect of Justice” Award from the Center for Policing Equity.
His opinion pieces have appeared in numerous periodicals including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the National Law Journal, National Review Online, and the Weekly Standard. He is a frequent guest on television and radio shows, including Fox News, Lou Dobbs, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, the PBS News Hour, Sean Hannity, and Montel Williams. He has been featured in profiles in the New Yorker, the LA Times, and the Washington Monthly.
Pat earned both his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and his Juris Doctorate at the University of Southern California. Pat and his wife Gail have three adult children. The Nolans live in Prescott, Arizona and are members of the Sacred Heart Parish. And a fun trivia fact: Pat rode as USC’s mascot, Tommy Trojan, in the 1974 Rose Parade.

Kurt-Altman.2-JPG.jpg — **Kurt Altman**

Kurt M. Altman is the principal of Kurt M. Altman PLC, a law firm and lobbying practice built on quality advocacy. Kurt has 25 years of legal experience, with a focus on criminal law, constitutional litigation, and policy development. He has spent his diverse career as not only a public servant, protecting the safety of the community as a former prosecutor and FBI special agent, but also as a private advocate, protecting individual and collective rights of everyday people through legal and political means.
Kurt began his legal career in the courtroom, conducting hundreds of investigations and felony jury trials as a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney and an Assistant United State Attorney for the District of Arizona. As a member of the Department of Justice, Kurt earned the Director’s Award; the highest honor bestowed upon Department of Justice lawyers, and has twice received the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director’s Award for his tireless efforts on behalf of FBI- conducted investigations.
Since 2008, Kurt has operated his own legal practice, advocating for a variety of legal clients in Arizona courtrooms. In 2011, he also joined the Goldwater Institute, becoming its Director of National Affairs & General Counsel, which started him on the path of lobbying for clients in the halls of state capitols throughout the nation. While at Goldwater, Kurt drafted the Right to Try Legislation and spearheaded Goldwater’s other national policy efforts as its Chief National Lobbyist. He spent months traveling the country to promote Right to Try and other legislation. During his tenure, Right to Try became law in 40 states and passed the United States Congress, becoming the law of the land with President Trump’s signature in 2018.
In 2016, Kurt became a signatory for Right on Crime. In 2017, he joined Texas Public Policy Foundation’s criminal justice reform movement as Right on Crime’s State Policy Director for Arizona and New Mexico. Always on the go, Kurt is also an adjunct law professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law where he teaches courses in white-collar crime and criminal evidence.

Fourteenth Episode - COVID-19 & Rural Communities

Part Two of our COVID-19 episode series, in partnership with ASU Law's Academy for Justice is here! We had listeners ask for a part two, proposing we invite prosecutors as guests to delve into the prosecutor's perspective, and we delivered! In this episode our guests, Coconino County Attorney William Ring, Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer, and Pastor Walton discuss what they are each doing to help flatten the line during our health crisis.

Kent Volkmer

Kent Volkmer went from a private practice representing clients in civil, criminal, dependency, divorce, juvenile, guardianship, mental health and probate matters to the elected leader of the Pinal County Attorney’s Office with the promise to create a system of individualized justice and to treat all people with fairness and respect. Since taking office in January of 2017, Kent has helped lead Pinal County to a significant reduction in the number of people annually placed in jail and sentenced toprison, while simultaneously seeing a dramatic, year over year, reduction in crime. By assessing the person, not the crime, eliminating the one size fits all justice system mantra and ensuring the consequences are proportionate to the offense, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Kent, has become a state leader in the fight to be smarter on crime. By collaborating with the county’s criminal justice partners, Kent has demonstrated that a collaborative, logic based approach to assessing and addressing crime leaves a community both safer and stronger.
Currently, Kent Volkmer sits as a Board Member on the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council, as well as the Personnel Chair. He is an appointed Board Member on the Arizona Auto Theft Authority, and the Pinal County Representative to the Arizona Association of Counties. Kent is an engaged member of the Arizona County Attorney Association, where he acts as the Legislative Liaison for the group. This year he sits as Vice President of the Arizona County Attorneys and Sheriffs Association, and as a Board Member for the Pinal County Law Enforcement Association. Currently, Kent acts as the Pinal County Substance Abuse Coalition Chair and is a founding member of the fledgling Pinal county re-entry coalition. When he is not busy with his professional commitments, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons. He also enjoys volunteering as his sons’ basketball coach and umpiring local little league baseball games.

**William P. Ring**
Coconino County Attorney

William Ring began his career with the Coconino County Attorney in 1989 and has served under prior County Attorneys, the honorable Mr. Verkamp, Mr. Hance, and Mr. Rozema.

Mr. Ring is a strong advocate for improving the safety of Communities through the vigorous and fair application of the law, and for ethical and effective public service from the dedicated members of the Coconino County Attorneys Office. Mr. Ring is admitted to practice law in the State of Arizona and the Supreme Court of the United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the District Courts of Arizona.

Mr. Ring is a graduate of the University of Rochester with a degree in Religious Studies (B.A., 1983) and a Master’s Degree in Education (M.S. Ed., 1985). He is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Rogers College of Law (J.D., 1989). He has been active in a variety of civic leadership groups including the Coconino County Bar Association (past-President), and is a past-Board Member to the Coconino County Sustainable Economic Development Initiative, the Northern Arizona Builders Association and the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ring is a graduate of the inaugural Flinn-Brown Foundation’s Civic Leadership Academy and he will continue to provide leadership skills and qualities to the Coconino County Attorneys Office.

Mr. Ring and his wife have lived in Flagstaff for 28 continuous years and raised their children in Flagstaff. The children are pursuing undergraduate and graduate work in engineering, philosophy and medicine.

Rev. Reginald Walton

Father, husband, son, brother; Rev. Walton received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Miles College in Birmingham, AL in 2007, where he graduated with honors. He then earned a Master of Divinity degree at the Phillips School of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta GA in May of 2010. Rev. Walton accepted the call to serve God’s people in July of 2001. Since then, he has served across the country as an assistant to the pastor, Pastoral Intern and Senior Pastor. Rev. Walton is an Ordained Traveling Elder in Full Connection in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. An avid social activist, he currently serves on several boards including the City of Phoenix Human Relations Commission; Chairperson of The AZ Black Lives Matter Campaign; is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. His fervor for ministry has caused him to receive many awards and recognition's over the years.

Fifteenth Episode - COVID-19 Impact on Tribal Communities

This episode is on COVID-19 and Tribal Communities, co-hosted by Amena and Valena. They interview (1) Alane V. Breland, who is the Chief Prosecutor for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, (2) Chief Prosecutor Jennifer Henry who is currently the Acting Chief Prosecutor for the Navajo Nation, and (3)Judge Alfred Urbina, an Associate Judge for the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court. Judge Urbina is the 5th Yaqui Tribal member to sit on the Pascua Yaqui bench. They join us to candidly discuss how COVID-19 is affecting Native communities and what they are actively doing to help flatten the curve.

Jennifer henry

Jennifer Henry is currently the Acting Chief Prosecutor for the Navajo Nation. She’s juggling that position along with her role as the prosecuting attorney in the Ramah Judicial District. Ms. Henry never thought she’d be a prosecutor, and her former journeys include private law practice in Colorado, staff attorney for the Navajo Nation Judicial Branch, staff attorney for the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, starting and folding a private civil and family law practice in the Navajo Nation, and then as a partner at Rosebrough Law in Gallup focusing on civil transactional law in AZ and NM for 6 years before returning to serve the Navajo Nation as a prosecutor.
Guests choose their photos for our website, and Jennifer Henry chose a selfie taken during our COVID-19 world.

Alane v. Breland

Alane V. Breland is the Chief Prosecutor for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. In the past, she has served SRPMIC as the Interim Director of the Salt River Family Advocacy Center, as the Assistant Chief Prosecutor, a Deputy Prosecutor, and as a Guardian ad Litem in the Salt River Legal Services Office.
Alane was admitted to the practice of law in the State of Arizona in 2007. She is a past member of the Supreme Court of Arizona Committee on Character and Fitness and a graduate of State Bar of Arizona Bar Leadership Institute.
Alane graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and received a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law. She sits on the Executive Board of Directors for the MISS Foundation, an international non-profit organization that provides support to grieving families following the death of a child.

Judge Alfred urbina

Fred Urbina, a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, currently serves as an Associate Judge forthe Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court, he formerly served as Assistant Attorney General Of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Fred also recently worked as the Deputy Associate Director of Tribal Justice Support, Office of Justice Services, at the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. He has practiced law or worked in the field of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement for approximately 20 years.
Fred recently served as the Attorney General of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and is a veteran of the United States Army. Fred has also served his community as a former Arizona State police officer, has worked as the Chief Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and worked as a law clerk for the Pima County Attorney’s Office. Fred spearheaded successful efforts at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to implement the Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), expanding the tribe’s jurisdiction to prosecute non-Native offenders of domestic violence.
Fred has also assisted in the development of innovative strategies to implement public safety programs, policies, and practices across the country. He has provided technical assistance and training on tribal policy reforms, and engaged in communications and media efforts to assist with outreach and education about VAWA. Fred also has experience in conducting system assessments, gathering and analyzing data, training law enforcement officers, court personnel, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and others on tribal criminal justice related topics. Fred has testified on VAWA and Tribal Courts before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Fred earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law. In law school, he was the recipient of the prestigious Andrew Silverman Community Service Award and earned a Certificate in Criminal Law & Policy. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Arizona, the United States District Court of Arizona, and the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Courts. For his recent efforts, Fred was awarded the prestigious 2017 Bonnie Heavy Runner Victim Advocacy Award in recognition of his work to increase access to justice for domestic violence victims and all members of the Pascua Yaqui community.

Sixteenth Episode - Mending Relationships in the Community: Where do we go from here?

Legal-Ease partnered up with Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law’s Academy for Justice once again to bring you this episode in light of the recent protests across America, calling for police reform. This episode features guest co-hosts Dawn Walton (Executive Director for Academy for Justice) and Andre C. Anderson (Arizona Commander of Special Operations for Glendale Police Department).

Our guests are Police Chief Jeri Williams of the Phoenix Police Department, Police Chief U. Reneé Hall of the Dallas Police Department, Lynda Williams who is the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement's (NOBLE) Vice President, and ASU Law professor/Academy for Justice Deputy Director Ben McJunkin. They discuss next steps on mending community trust In light of calls for police reform, further discussing the current state of affairs and what police departments can do to mend relationships in the community.

**Phoenix police chief jeri williams**

Jeri L. Williams was appointed Police Chief of the Phoenix Police Department in October 2016. She oversees the largest police department in the State of Arizona, which provides law enforcement services to the fifth largest city in the United States. Chief Williams manages 2,900 sworn officers and more than 900 civilian employees along with an annual budget that exceeds $600 million.
Chief Williams is a 28-year law enforcement veteran and an accomplished police executive. Under her leadership, the Phoenix Police Department is advancing progressive strategies essential in contemporary law enforcement. Core components of these efforts are centered on the suppression and prevention of crime, the continuation of community engagement and outreach, the promotion of transparency and accountability to increase legitimacy and the commitment to employees and their well-being.
Previously, Chief Williams served nearly six years as Police Chief in the City of Oxnard, California where she strengthened police-community relationships and oversaw the implementation of police body-worn cameras.
Chief Williams is a native Phoenician. She began her law enforcement career with the Phoenix Police Department and retired as an Assistant Chief after 22 years of service following her selection as Oxnard Police Chief.
**Chief Williams is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) and the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP).**
During Arizona’s Centennial year, Chief Williams was honored as one of Arizona’s 48 Most Intriguing Women by the Arizona Centennial Legacy Project, in partnership with the Arizona Historical Society and the Arizona Community Foundation for her leadership in the law enforcement profession. In 2016, Chief Williams was recognized as California Assembly District 44 Woman of the Year for her leadership and outstanding accomplishments as Chief of the Oxnard Police Department and in late 2016, President Obama appointed Chief Williams to a membership position on the Medal of Valor Review Board.
**Chief Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in Education from Northern Arizona University.**

RENEÉ HALL,
Dallas Chief of Police

Chief Reneé Hall is a highly accomplished and experienced law enforcement executive with more than 20 years as a public servant. She was appointed Chief of the Dallas Police Department in 2017, becoming the first woman to ever lead the organization. Prior to her appointment as Chief, Hall served as the Deputy Chief of the Detroit Police Department.
Chief Hall has made significant strides to advance the nation's ninth largest police department. Her vision, aligned with 21stCentury Policing, focuses on the reduction of crime, increasing recruitment and retention, providing new opportunities for officer career development, modernizing the organization's effectiveness through enhanced technology, and she is committed to improving and nurturing community relationships.
Under Chief Hall's leadership, there was a 5.7 percent reduction in overall crime in 2017 and a 5.97 percent reduction in violent crime in 2018. The department implemented new technology with Dallas On-Line Reporting System (DORS) and Text to 911. One of her latest accomplishments includes, the department's launch of the Starlight program, a 6-month proof of concept that allows officers to use state-of-the-art cameras and lighting to capture crime in real time. Additionally, the iWatchDallas App was relaunched. iWatch is a tip application that allows users to download the app on any cell phone and submit information, video or pictures to law enforcement.
Chief Hall along with her leadership team worked with city leaders to increase the starting salary of officers, restructured the civil service exam and conducted on-site recruiting and testing in cities like New York and Chicago. These efforts led to the Dallas Police Department recently accepting the largest academy class in the history of the department.
With officer wellness and development as a priority, morale continues to improve through the implementation of health and wellness fairs and the opening of a new gym located at police headquarters. Chief Hall continues to look for innovative ways to inspire and motivate officers to be their very best physically and mentally and spiritually.
Chief Hall prioritizes community engagement and outreach by regularly connecting with officers in the field, meeting with Dallas community groups, professional leaders, and local organizations. Chief Hall spearheaded the City of Dallas' restructuring of the Community Police Oversight Board, as well as the police department's first Youth Summer Jobs program, that allowed business leaders and community stakeholders to capture at-risk youth through workforce development.
Her educational accomplishments include completion of the FBI National Academy, Major Cities Chiefs Executive Leadership Institute (PELI IV), two Masters of Science degrees in Security Administration and Intelligence Analysis, from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Grambling State University. Chief Hall is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, The International Women's Forum (IWF), Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

**Lynda williams**

A 28-year veteran of the United States Secret Service, Lynda R. Williams is Deputy Assistant Director of the United States Secret Service. In May 2015, she received a Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment.
Ms. Williams is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. In 1988, Ms. Williams began her career in the United States Secret Service, as a Uniformed Division Officer assigned to the White House Branch. After serving three years as an Officer, she was selected to be a Special Agent and assigned to the Washington Field Office. Special Agent Williams conducted counterfeit currency, treasury check, credit card and bank fraud, and other financial crimes investigations. In 1997, Special Agent Williams was reassigned to the Vice Presidential Protective Division during the Clinton Administration, where she served four years. In 2001, Special Agent Williams was then transferred to the Richmond Field Office, where she continued to conduct criminal investigations, as well as a myriad of protective assignments.
In 2003, Special Agent Williams was promoted as the Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office. Her promotion served as a milestone distinguishing her as the first African American female to serve as a supervisor in this major field office. In 2004, Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge, Williams was transferred to Headquarters, where she served as the National Recruiter in the Security Clearance Division. In 2008, she was once again promoted to be the Secret Service’s Country Attaché, Pretoria Resident Office in Pretoria, South Africa. In this capacity she was responsible for all Secret Service operations in Sub-Saharan Africa and five countries in West Africa. Attaché Williams had jurisdiction for 21 countries, as well as oversight of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
In 2011, she returned to Washington, DC, after being promoted to be the Special Agent in Charge, Office of Congressional Affairs. In this capacity, she served as the Secret Service’s liaison to members of Congress. In 2013, the Director of the Secret Service appointed her as the Special Agent in Charge of the Recruitment Division, where she was tasked with the responsibility to ensure that the Secret Service maintained the high standards of excellence for recruiting the next generation of Uniformed Division Officers and Special Agents.
In May 2015, Special Agent in Charge Williams was appointed to the ranks of the Senior Executive Service, as the Deputy Assistant Director, Office of Human Resources. In this capacity, Deputy Assistant Director Williams currently serves as Chief Security Officer (CSO) for the development, implementation and management of the agency’s security vision, strategy and programs. She is responsible for the security of all personnel, information and physical premises of the Secret Service.
Ms. Williams has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master’s Degree of Science in Management from Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Williams is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). She has received numerous awards and commendations throughout her distinguished career with the United States Secret Service and serves as a mentor to current agency leaders.

**ben mcjunkin**

**Ben McJunkin is an Associate Professor of Law and Associate Deputy Director of the Academy for Justice. He is also an Affiliated Faculty Member with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice**
Professor McJunkin currently teaches and writes on topics in criminal law and criminal procedure. His scholarlship focuses primarily on the criminalization of sexual violence and the policing of marginalized communties. His legal research connects doctrine with broader themes in moral philosophy and gender theory. His work in substantive criminal law routinely questions how the legal regulation of sex and sexuality shapes, and is shaped by, societal narratives about gender identity and sexual injury. Meanwhile, his work in constitutional criminal procedure questions the prevailing conceptions of privacy, which tend to be overly individualistic and hostile to the values of mutuality and interdependence. Taken together, his scholarship critiques legal liberalism and emphasizes the criminal law's expressive character—its ability to communicate social values and establish duties intended to guide conduct.
Prior to joining the law school, Professor McJunkin was an alumni fellow at the University of Michigan Law School, where he also earned his J.D. *magna cum laude*. During law school, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the *Michigan Journal of Gender & Law*. Following law school, he clerked for Justice Peter J. Rubin on the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Judge Kermit V. Lipez on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Professor McJunkin also brings a wealth of private-practice experience in white-collar criminal defense. Working at three prominent law firms, he represented corporate clients in federal criminal investigations and related regulatory proceedings. His practice experience informs his scholarship, particulary regarding the legitimate limits of criminalization and the role of mental states in blameworthiness.
Professor McJunkin's recent scholarship has been published in the *Michigan Law Review*, the *Wisconsin Law Review*, the *New Criminal Law Review*, and the *Columbia Journal of Gender & Law*. He is also a frequent guest on podcasts and panels discussing the role of police in American society.

Seventeenth Episode - A Conversation with Brian Potts: A Legal Journey

Brian H Potts has made waves through his transparency on Linkedin and Twitter. It all started a month ago, with a post about his rejection letter from Perkins Coie back in 2002, his dream law firm, only to celebrate the fact that he is now partner at that very firm. The caption was “Law Students: If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” The post quickly became viral, and it didn’t stop there – several law students and recent grads reached out to Brian for career advice. He not only engaged with them via Linkedin and Zoom meetings and continues to, but he actively uses his platforms to boost their qualifications in hopes of finding them job opportunities. Then, his efforts appeared in Above the Law, where of course, the giving Brian again offered up his email for law students and law grads to reach out.

Brian has an impressive bio which can be found on the website at Legaleasepodcast.com -- But to summarize here, Brian is a business attorney, litigator, entrepreneur and writer who has advised a range of FORTUNE 100 and smaller clients, including startups. And today, he's here to talk about the Legal Journey. This is particularly a great episode for individuals in the legal community or for individuals interested in law school.

**BRIAN H. POTTS**

Business attorney, litigator, entrepreneur and writer Brian Potts has advised a range of *Fortune* 100, 500 and smaller clients. Brian and his team have appeared in more than 50 administrative proceedings and dozens of federal and state court cases. He has also been involved in billions of dollars’ worth of business transactions and has helped his clients obtain regulatory approvals to build more than $4 billion dollars’ worth of utility infrastructure in various states, including conventional power plants, transmission lines, wind farms and solar facilities.
Brian also likes to help startup companies get off the ground. A successful entrepreneur himself, in 2016 Brian invented the first and only computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers (called the LegalBoard®). And in 2017, Brian helped found his second startup, Goods Unite Us, which is a non-partisan, for-profit business focused on helping consumers align their purchases with their political beliefs.
At his former Am Law 100 firm, Brian made equity partner in record time, and at the age of thirty-two, he was the youngest equity partner in the firm. Since 2013, Brian has been ranked by Chambers USA and listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Wisconsin Super Lawyers. Best Lawyers also recently named him lawyer of the year in the Energy Regulatory Law category for 2018.
In his free time, Brian enjoys writing opinion pieces and articles. He is a contributor at Forbes.com, where he regularly offers insightful commentary on energy and environmental law topics. Besides Forbes, his articles have also been published by the Wall Street Journal, Politico, Bloomberg, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Weekly Standard and in law journals published by Yale, Harvard, N.Y.U. and Berkeley. He is also a regular guest lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and he teaches a course on Renewable Energy Project Development & Finance at Vermont Law School.
In his active pro bono practice, Brian serves as the general counsel to the Clean Lakes Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to the improvement and protection of southern Wisconsin’s lakes, streams and wetlands; he is also the lead counsel for the Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance, a small nonprofit aimed at preserving and restoring thousands of acres of prairie in southcentral Wisconsin.

Eighteenth and Nineteenth Episodes - Interview with Maricopa County Attorney 2020 Candidates

In partnership with the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s Academy for Justice, we interviewed both candidates for Maricopa County Attorney — Allister Adel and Julie Gunnigle. ASU Law professor Erik Luna asks each candidate the same set of questions on criminal justice topics.

Just in time for election, learn about your candidates and give both interviews a listen!

**Allister adel**

Allister’s first priority as a prosecutor is to do justice. Appointed to the position of Maricopa County Attorney in October 2019, she leads a group of men and women who seek justice for victims and works tirelessly to ensure that the rule of law is applied fairly.
Allister began her legal career at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office where she was a litigator prosecuting felonies and advocating for victims’ rights. During her more than seven years as a Deputy County Attorney, she served in the Vehicular Crimes, Gang, and Drug Enforcement bureaus. Allister was then appointed to executive level leadership positions for the Arizona State government from 2011 to 2015. As the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Arizona Department of Transportation and later as General Counsel for the Arizona Department of Child Safety, she worked to build coalitions and improve policies to help the agencies achieve their mission.
Today, Allister is working to build on this legacy of public service through her official capacity as well as her community involvement. Allister credits becoming a Rotarian as one of her most fulfilling experiences. From 2017-2018, she served as President of Phoenix Rotary 100, the oldest and largest Rotary Club in Arizona. Allister also serves as President of the ChildHelp Advisory Board.

56472395-59bc-4b8b-8cd6-cfaf3be09718-Julie_Gunnigle.jpg — **JULIE GUNNIGLE**

Julie was born and raised in Arizona. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School, cum laude. After law school, Julie went on to serve as Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County, Illinois where she prosecuted financial crime and public corruption.
As a former prosecutor and nonprofit executive – Julie understands the complexities of our criminal justice system is and how important it is to have someone with a diverse set of experiences to tackle the problems within the County Attorney’s office and in Maricopa County.

Twentieth Episode - COVID-19 Impact on Black Communities

Throughout 2020, Legal-Ease Podcast produced episodes with partner ASU Law's Academy for Justice, covering COVID-19 and its impact across communities. This episode is co-hosted by ASU Law Professor and Academy for Justice Deputy Valena beety. This episode discusses COVID-19's impact on Black communities, and the conversation navigates key history, vaccination, and steps toward building trust. We welcome guests Dr. Akilah A. Jefferson Shah and Dr. Howard Henderson.